Ticker for March 19, 1999

                
MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ... MESONET TICKER ...
March 19, 1999     March 19, 1999     March 19, 1999     March 19, 1999


Dance of the Surface Low

A surface low has wobbled around in western Oklahoma for much of the
day, and at times it has seemed to redevelop near Lake Texhoma.
The feature is interesting in that the circulation center features
a remarkably and consistently large area of calm winds.

You can see several depictions of current wind conditions at the
Mesonet Subscriber's Data Page.  May the Ticker recommend the
"Latest Weather Map" and "Latest Wind Speeds and Gusts" of the
Plotted Weather Maps Section, and the animations on the wind speed
and direction on the right hand siade of the page.

Oklahoma Mesonet Subscriber's Page: http://www.mesonet.org/



Subterranean Drought Conditions Relaxing in Southwest?

The moderate-to-heavy rains of the last few days have lowered the
Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) values in extreme southwestern
Oklahoma.

The southwesternmost two or three counties have seen elevated KBDI
values since the onset of the severe drought of 1998.  Even with
the welcome rains of this cool season, the KDBI and Mesonet soil
moisture sensors have suggested that subterranean conditions remain
dry, and therefore conducive to the early onset of problems
associated with lack of rain.

However, maybe this week's rainfall has improved conditions.

The lastest KDBI map is available via the Oklahoma Fire Danger Model:
http://agweather.mesonet.org/fire/data.html#gifs

Click on any county for a table of the recent history of the KDBI
and other fire-weather conditions.